Trending: Why We're Driving Less

Updated 6:40 pm, Wednesday, June 5, 2013

At left, Roselyne Opont, an instructor for All-Star Driver, a Norwalk driving school, gives a lesson to Norwalk resident, Cassidy Somma, 17, in the parking lot of the All Saints Catholic School in Norwalk, Wednesday, June 5, 2013.
Photo: Bob Luckey

Reflected in a side-view mirror, Norwalk resident, Cassidy Somma, 17, looks for pedestrians while exiting a parking space in the All Saints Catholic School lot in Norwalk, Wednesday afternoon, June 5, 2013, while taking a driving lesson from Roselyne Opont, an instructor for All-Star Driver, a Norwalk driving school.
Photo: Bob Luckey

At right, Roselyne Opont, an instructor for All-Star Driver, a Norwalk driving school, gives a lesson to Norwalk resident, Cassidy Somma, 17, in the parking lot of All Saints Catholic School in Norwalk, Wednesday, June 5, 2013.
Photo: Bob Luckey

The reflection of Norwalk resident, Cassidy Somma, 17, can be seen in the rear-view mirror as Somma negotiates West Rocks Road in Norwalk, Wednesday afternoon, June 5, 2013, while taking a driving lesson from Roselyne Opont, an instructor for All-Star Driver, a Norwalk driving school.
Photo: Bob Luckey

After decades of faithful attachment to our cars, using vehicles for everything from driving to work to lulling babies to sleep, Americans' habits are shifting.

From 1970 on, the number of miles Americans traveled in their cars, trucks and SUVs increased by about 1.8 percent every year, as the attachment grew steadily -- until 2004 when the average distance driven fell for the first time, according to Ben Davis, a policy analyst with Pioneer Group and author of the non-profit's recent report "Transportation and the New Generation."

Since 2004, the amount of miles driven by the typical American has decreased by 6 percent. While the shift can be seen in most age brackets, the millennial generation seems to be responsible for the largest share of the decline, Davis said.

"Back 30 and 40 years ago, people wanted to move out to the suburbs. The American Dream was a suburban area with a white picket fence and all of that," Davis said this week.

"Now younger people want to live downtown, in places where they can walk, where there's a lot going on, and there are friends within walking distance," he said. "That's not to say there aren't people who live in suburbs, but there is a shift."

Here in Southwestern Connecticut, a generational difference is easy to see in many towns.

Take Fairfield, for example. The suburban neighborhood with a buzzing downtown district and close proximity to Metro-North's railroads has the largest generational shift in the region: While 74.7 percent of employed Fairfield residents between ages 45 and 54 drive to work, only 48 percent of 16-24 year olds do so. That leaves a 26.7 percent gap between the generations.

Stamford has the second largest gap, followed by Redding and Bridgeport.

There are several reasons for the change. Between 2001 and 2009, the number of miles traveled by 16-34 year olds on public transit increased by 40 percent, and they were more likely to ride bicycles to work, citing the environment and fitness as reasons for their choices, according to Davis.

Then there's technology.

A study published by the car-sharing company Zipcar earlier this year declared that millennials are likely to place more value on their phones than their cars -- if they have a car. According to the findings, 65 percent of millennials say losing their phone or computer would have a greater negative impact on their daily lives than losing their car. And one in four members of the generation said transportation apps on their phones have reduced their driving frequency; that's twice the rate of those over age 45.

"There are some people who have totally dropped a car and they don't even know how to drive. But I think what technology and a few other things have done is instead of a car being the sole way of transportation, it's become one option for many people," Davis said.

For 23-year-old Nicole Portera, who moved from her native Fairfield to Milford a year ago, and takes the train to work in New York City every day, leaning on mass transportation simply gives her the ability to use that technology to complete tasks -- and even get some needed relaxation.

"I like that I can read or take a nap or answer emails, things I couldn't do if I was driving," said Portera. "I also really hate traffic to the point where if I am driving somewhere and there's traffic I'll take back roads to get to where I'm trying to get to. I don't have to deal with that when I'm on the train."

In addition to using commuting times to multi-task, the technology itself is curbing the need to be onsite for work and social reasons. Now apps such as Facetime, and websites such as Facebook mean people can be social without being in the same spot. And the Zipcar study found that 47 percent of millennials sometimes opt to spend time with their friends online instead of driving to see them.

"I'm 30 now, and I remember clearly the day I turned 16," Dufour said. "I went to the DMV and waited in line for my permit. And that's pretty rare now. There aren't many 16 year olds that are doing that."

Over the past several years, Dufour said he has noticed his teenage clients beginning the driving process a couple years later, at 18 or 19. Sure, there's the technology factor, he said, with teens having less of a need to drive themselves since "their mom or dad is willing to drive them when they need to go somewhere, and when they don't need to go somewhere, they have plenty of alternatives to help them be social."

Dufour also attribute some of the change to the new driving laws, which went into effect in 2008.

The new laws in Connecticut mandate that drivers under age 18 log 40 hours of on-the-road training before receiving their license, and limits who can be in the car with them after they become licensed.

"Having a driver's license was once seen as a mark of passage from being a teenager to putting one foot into the adult world," said Bill Seymour, a spokesman for the Connecticut DMV.

"You were driving an expensive vehicle, and it was taking your places far beyond the immediate zone of your home. You were often alone in the car, or you were taking friends in the car. And it was that major step toward freedom," Seymour said. "With the graduated driver's licensing laws and some of the other restrictions such as no electronic devices, you really cut out the perception of it as being a right to passage, and it's more like a hurdle that you have to get across. There are a lot of hurdles involved."

As a result, Dufour said his company is "educating more 18 and 19 year olds now than we are 16 and 17 year olds," signifying a big shift from years past.

And while the drop is most significant among younger drivers, with the average annual number of miles driven by 16-34 year olds decreasing from 10,300 in 2001 to 7,900 in 2009, it's not strictly a phenomenon for younger people.

Charles Glaser, 70, lives in downtown Stamford and has traded in driving for walking and using his bicycle whenever he can. As an actor, he spends a good portion of his time commuting for auditions, which includes walking a few blocks, hopping on a train and hoofing it through Manhattan.

"If I didn't have to have a car, I wouldn't have a car," said Glaser, who keeps his minivan so he can visit his children in Weston about once a week.

"I walk to the library. I walk to Tiernan's, to the post office, to the Government Center, to the bank. I can walk everywhere," he said. "I have to drive to the grocery store because it's a mile away. But other than that, I enjoy walking."

While Glaser makes it a point not to be reliant on his car, people in his age group are still more likely to drive themselves to work on a daily basis than younger folks. About 77 percent of Southwestern Connecticut residents over age 65 drive every day, compared with 65 percent of 16-24 year olds, according to census data.

And it seems the younger folks will continue this trend, altering the fabric of post-war American life, said Davis.

"We need to understand what this trend means and plan accordingly. We shouldn't just keep building infrastructure, assuming the number of miles we travel will increase forever," he said. "It probably won't."